JPS59106220A - Robot hand for harvesting fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a completely new fruit-harvesting robot hand used in a fruit-harvesting device, such as the one already proposed by the applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 57-140021.

In this type of robot hand, it is important to configure the robot hand so that it can reliably take in the fruit to be harvested to a position within the fruit catcher of the hand where it can be tenon-cut. For this purpose, a mechanism that can reliably capture the fruit is required.
However, the positions of fruits growing on fruit trees are generally random, and fruits, branches, and leaves may overlap. Therefore, it is difficult to capture all the target fruits by always approaching from a certain direction (for example, from below the target fruit), and in order to reliably capture such fruits, it is necessary to One possible example would be a configuration that is capable of grasping fruit; however, a typical configuration for such industrial robots would be extremely complex and large-scale, making it impractical.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a fruit harvesting robot with a fruit capturing mechanism that can reliably capture fruits to be harvested, while having a relatively simple configuration. The goal is to offer a hand.

In order to achieve the above object, the fruit harvesting robot hand according to the present invention has a plurality of bendable finger members erected on the periphery of the open end of the cylindrical fruit storage base end. A wire is provided that passes through the tips of these finger members in a loosely fitted manner, and by pulling the wire, each of the finger members is bent inward of the open end. ing.

Because of this characteristic structure, there is no need to incorporate a mechanism for bending the finger member itself, so the structure of the finger member can be made very simple and compact, and the flexibility in selecting the structure is wide. I was able to do it. In addition, the wire passed through the tip of the finger member is automatically grasped by simply pulling it, and the finger tip is closed with a space inside surrounded by the finger member, so it can be used in any direction. We were able to capture 711 fruits even from the ground.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fruit harvesting device on the fruit male side has a flexible arm +11 housed in a movable main body (not shown), and a fruit harvesting robot hand 121 is attached to the tip of this arm ill. As well as being attached, this hand 1
A fruit conveying chute 131 for conveying fruits to a storage section (not shown) is connected to 21.

To explain this robot hand 121, (4)
161 is a cylindrical base end, which is configured to be able to control its direction with respect to the arm 111, and is moved by the arm (11) to introduce the fruit to be captured into its interior from its introduction port +51. It is a finger for fruit capture provided around the fruit introduction port 11i1 of part (4).

(7) is a contact sensor provided at the tip of the finger (4+), which sends a signal to the control device d to control the arm ill when capturing the fruit. (83 is a photoelectric sensor, and the hand 12
This is to detect whether or not the vehicle has entered the interior of the vehicle.

The structure of the finger 181 is as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
The middle part (excluding the distal end (6mm) and the proximal end #(6B))
6C) is constructed with a coiled spring (spring) so that the legs can be freely bent. Then, the tip (
A hole 191 passing through this tip (6mm) is provided in the hole 191 (6mm), and a single wire is provided to loosely fit through this hole (ill), and this wire is pulled. Accordingly, the name fingers (61...) are configured to be automatically and simultaneously bent toward the inside of the fruit inlet.

The wire no+ has one end connected to the cylindrical base end section 4).
The base member 111+ is fixed to one side end (11m) of the base member 111+, and the other end can be drawn downward by crossing the convexly curved front edge (IIB) of the base member (11). This wiring is connected to the wire 11.
01 by winding it up using a drive device (not shown) such as a motor (the winding mechanism is not shown).

Note that the proximal member 1+tlO front edge (IIB) has a blade portion (
110) and is configured to function as a cutter for cutting the tenon by the intersection of the wires 1101.

The fruit harvesting robot hand (2) is constructed as described above, and its control is performed as follows.

In other words, the robot hand (21) is first moved toward the position of the fruit detected by the fruit position detection means (not shown), and at this time, the robot hand (21) is moved toward the position of the fruit detected by the fruit position detection means (not shown), and at this time, the robot hand (21) is moved toward the position of the fruit detected by the fruit position detection means (not shown). Based on the signal, the position of the hand (21) is corrected and the fruit is introduced into the central gap formed by the fingers (II). When the fruit has entered sufficiently, the photoelectric sensor (8
1 detects this fruit, at this point the wire is pulled by a drive device (not shown) to bend the finger (61) to capture the fruit and to move the tenon of the fruit in the direction of the proximal member fil+. Then, the base end member fill
When the front edge (IIB) of the wire intersects with the wire +101, the tenon of the fruit is automatically cut and the fruit is picked. The picked fruit is located at the base end (
4) through the inside of the chute (31 is the storage part (not shown)
It is sent to. When the fruit has been picked, the wire 1101 is loosened and the fingers 161 stand upright due to their own spring force.

Hereinafter, the other side of the present invention will be explained.

In addition, in each example shown below, the above-mentioned FIGS.
Components with the same numbers as those in the drawings have the same functions.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base end member (11) is connected to the finger (
61..., and the wire n
By pulling in the ot, the finger 161 enters the fruit introduction port 1fil.
The tenon is configured to be automatically cut as soon as it is bent inward.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing a separate configuration of the male side of the present invention, in which the proximal end member (11) is not fixed to the finger tel, but is provided at the intermediate part on the retracting side of the wire 11α. By drawing the wire 1101, the finger 1
81... is bent toward the inside of the fruit introduction port (51), and at the same time, the base end member till is protruded toward the inside of the fruit introduction port (51), and the tenon is automatically cut in the same manner as described above.

Note that the base end member (111) is not used, but the wire (1 (T)) is used.
is made of relatively thin steel wire, etc., and this wire is used as a strainer)
The tenon may be cut by the wire U itself.

Further, as shown by the dotted line in FIGS. 2 to 5, a V-shaped recess (I
ID) may be provided. In this case, the recess (11
0) serves as a guide when cutting the tenon, and the tenon can always be cut at a constant position, making automatic tenon cutting more convenient.

The fingers (61...) may be entirely formed of a coiled spring, except for the fingertip part (6m), or may be formed of a flexible member made of rubber or the like.

Furthermore, multi-jointed fingers may be employed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the robot hand for fruit harvesting according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an overall view of the robot hand, FIG. 2 is a plan view of main parts, FIG. 3 is a side view thereof, and FIGS. #S5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the separate male side. (4)...Tubular base end, [61...Finger member, tlol...Wire, till...
・・Proximal end member, (110) ・・Blade portion, (IID
)...V-shaped recess.

Claims (1)

[Claims] ■ A plurality of bendable finger members 181... are provided upright on the periphery of the entrance end of the cylindrical fruit storage base end (4), and these finger members (61... A wire U is provided to loosely fit through the tip, and by pulling the wire +1 (I), each finger member 161 is bent inward of the end of the entrance. A robot hand for fruit harvesting, characterized in that: (1) One end of the wire +101 is fixed to one end of the proximal member 111+, and the other end of the wire is attached along the other end of the proximal member (Ill). The robot according to claim 0, wherein the robot is configured to be retractable, and when the wire tray is retracted, the wire tray and the front edge of the proximal member 1111 intersect with each other. Hand. ■ The robot according to claim 0, characterized in that the base end member (111) is fixed to the upper end of one of the finger members 181 of the finger members 161. Hand. (1) The robot hand according to claim 0, wherein the base end member (111) is disengaged from the finger member (61) and supported only by the wire (1α). The robot hand according to any one of claims 0 to 0, characterized in that the wire (1α itself is configured as a blade member). (1) A blade is provided at the front edge of the base end member field. Claims 0 to 0 are characterized in that:
The robot hand described in any of the paragraphs. (2) The robot hand according to any one of claims 0 to (i), wherein the proximal member [+110] has a front edge having a convexly curved shape. ■ There are four V-shaped parts (
Claim 4! The robot hand according to any one of IFIO terms to 0 terms.